HYDERABAD, Sept 25: After Karachi, the second largest city of Sindh has also been experiencing a surge in armed robberies.

This can be gauged from the fact that about half a dozen of such incidences were reported from different areas of the city on Wednesday during which an employee of the Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) was gunned down and a judicial officer and his family were deprived of valuables and about Rs1 million cash.

Meanwhile, three armed robberies had been reported on Sept 23.

On Wednesday, Yousaf Khoso, an employee of the OGDCL, was intercepted by armed bandits near Zeal Pak Colony, within the jurisdiction of the Site police station.

When Mr Khoso put up resistance as the robbers tried to snatch his bike, they opened fire on him and fled.

The Site police said that the victim sustained four bullet wounds and was taken to the Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad branch where he died. He was a resident of Tando Mir Alam Marri and was also said to be affiliated with a nationalist party. No FIR for the case was lodged yet.

Site SHO Yaqoob Bhatti said that a friend who was travelling with the victim also fled the scene which maked it hard to figure out whether the incident was just a simple armed robbery or a result of personal enmity.

Meanwhile in another incident, six unidentified armed men riding two motorbikes snatched Rs1 million from Jamal Khan Marri on Budho Palari Road, within the remit of the Naseem Nagar police station.

Mr Jamal and his friend Mir Mohammad Khan Mari had separately withdrawn Rs1 million each from UBL branch at Gul Centre branch and had been on their way to the Jamshoro Thermal Power House Colony.

The judicial officer put up a resistance upon which the robbers hit him in the head with the butt of his pistol. However, the cash taken out by his friend remained safe.

No case was registered for this incident either.

In yet another incident, eight robbers barged into the house of judicial officer Zamir Tunio, situated in Azizabad area within the jurisdiction of the Bhittai Nagar police station. The robbers held the family hostage as they looted Rs300,000 cash and gold ornaments worth Rs800,000.

In a separate incident, three armed robbers deprived Arsalan of Rs96,000 and his motorcycle within the jursdiction of the Tando Yousuf police station, while Mohammad Zubair was deprived of his motorcycle on Wadhu Wah Road within the remit of the GOR police station by two bandits.

Meanwhile, Wasim Khawar and his wife Nusrat were robbed of two mobile phones, Rs18,000 cash and gold valuables on the Sakhi Wahab Flyover, within the jurisdiction of the Makki Shah police station.